CD reviews for Pistol Annies

For those who thought "Hell on Heels" was a one-off side project for Miranda Lambert (along with sidekicks Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe), think again. The Annies, aka "Lonestar Annie" (Lambert), "Hippie Annie" (Monroe), and "Holler Annie" (Presley), are no novelty act. Instead, they tackle material that you just are unlikely to hear on mainstream country radio both in subject matter and sonics.
Like the debut, this one also makes it quite clear that »»»

One might think that given the presence of Miranda Lambert, Pistol Annies are some sort of unworthy side, vanity project for Lambert in between discs. They also would be most wrong because this is not just Lambert and a few sidekicks.
Nope. This is a full-fledged, hardcore country trio album (Ashley Monroe and Angeleena Presley are Lambert's partners in crime) and an excellent one at that. The disc takes no prisoners to say the least, making that clear from the get go »»»

Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»

Concert Review: Stapleton shows his traditional roots –
Chris Stapleton's All-American Road show feels like a singular mission to rid the genre of the bro country scourge that has plagued it for years. He came out with a blazing one-two punch of "Second One To Know" and "Without Your Love" and packed a stadium sized onslaught into a 9,000-seat arena. He never once veered from his... »»»

Concert Review: Jinks wins over fans, especially new ones –
Cody Jinks asked the crowd a bit into his show how many had never seen him before. It seemed like Jinks has made a lot of musical inroads into the public's consciousness because roughly three quarters of the audience raised their hands to show that this was their first time.
That probably made Jinks feel pretty darn good about how life has been... »»»

Eleven years ago, Kelly stepped away from music. She had just finished touring on 2007's exquisite "Translated From Love" and felt the angst of being a travelling musician with family at home. At that point, Willis and her husband, musician/producer Bruce Robison,... »»»

For a brief moment last summer, the news of Tony Kinman's death was, if not greatly exaggerated, then at least fortuitously premature. The roots rock icon, known for his work in The Dils, Rank and File, Blackbird and Cowboy Nation with his younger brother Chip, had been diagnosed with cancer in March 2018,... »»»

Until recently, Chris Shiflett took a somewhat obsessive/compulsive approach to his music career. For the past two decades, Shiflett has been the primary guitar foil for Dave Grohl in Foo Fighters; early in his tenure, Shiflett was so self-deprecatingly... »»»

With "Threads," Sheryl Crow gets the all-star-guest treatment on what she says is her swang song, with each song featuring a favorite fellow artist. She seems a little too young for this kind of tribute. Nevertheless, »»»